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Prince William and Kate Middleton release first photos of the wee Prince George

Prince George's first official photographs buck tradition. They weren't taken by a professional photographer and show the couple and their new baby boy without any pomp and circumstance. 

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AP Photo/Michael Middleton/TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
Prince George and family sit down for a photo in the garden at Kate Middleton's parents' house in Bucklebury, England earlier this month. Middleton's dad took the photo.
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AP Photo/Michael Middleton/TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their son, Prince George, in the garden of the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, England, earlier this month. Middleton's dad took the photo instead of a professional photographer.
  • By Andrew Averill Correspondent

Despite the pandemonium that surrounded Prince George's birth and rocketed him to instant infant-celebrity, the first photos of the wee prince released today by royal officials show the proper amount of fuss that ought to be made about a newborn – not too much.

For one, Kate Middleton and husband Prince William ignored tradition and didn't hire a professional photographer. The duchess' father, Michael Middleton, took the photos of the couple, baby, and two dogs, in the garden of the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, England, earlier this month.

And then they are dressed informally. Prince William left the top two buttons of his shirt undone and his sleeves are resting just above the elbow. The duchess is wearing a dress that says anything but pomp and circumstance. 

The photos come a day after Prince William gave his first interview since Prince George was born on July 22.

He told CNN that his son is a "little bit of a rascal" and reminded him of his younger brother, Prince Harry. 

"At the moment, the only legacy I want to pass on to him is to sleep more and maybe not have to change his nappy so many times," he told CNN as part of a documentary on the prince that will air Sept. 15. 

As for the snapshots – what did professional photographers think of the amateur photos? It was a mixed bag.

Martin Keene, head of pictures at the Press Association news agency, said "any photographer would have been pleased to have taken them." But The Sun newspaper's veteran royal photographer, Arthur Edwards, advised Michael Middleton: "Don't give up the day job."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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